OK, no flame wars but I need a new laptop, Mac or Win? Manufacturer

I have a Toshiba that has not held up well and an old Campaq EVO that is ancient, slow but bullet proof

how hard will it be to come up to speed on a MacBook? do I need all new software?

edumacate me Loungers

:hi:

:popcorn:

If it's just standard surfing/word processing/etc., stick with PC. You'll need to get new software for a Mac. Having said that, there are some interesting features with Macs, but you're going to pay a premium for them.

some word processing

mainly I'm trying to get the videos to play better online and something pretty stable.

the whole Mac is more stable than PC is bull. I use both, and they're about the same.

Really, it comes down to how much you want to spend and if you want to try something new or stick with the familiar. Going from one to the other is like having a car you've driven for ten years, then getting used to a new one. The knobs and buttons won't be in the same place; you'll have to relearn the things you did on a PC intuitively.

go here before you lay down money:

http://buyersguide.macrumors.com/

Lets you know if there's an update on the way, and if you should wait before buying

from spare parts accumulted on the web, and install Linux, you are a stupid tool. Doesn't matter if you don't know how to do that, that alone makes you a stupid tool.

so there.

fuck doing it again

:rofl:

which is why I pay the good people at Apple for an off the shelf one now. much easier.

I find the OS more intuitive. I find Windows clunky.

I love my Mac laptop (one of those really cool ones with the titanium casing). But Macs are more expensive.....

Khash.

My husband and I fight over who gets to use the Mac! :-)

YMMV, but I am sick to death of Micro$oft.

there are Macs that have an Intel chip which can run both Windows and the Mac OS, so you may not need to get new software.

not a laptop but I know the main thing is the operating sytem which is the same on the dekstop.

A few bumps when switching early on and one or two things to get used to, but I have to say that 6 months later I couldn't possibly ever go back to a PC for my home computer. In my experience, the Mac OS is everything every fan boy/girl says it is and more. Once you get used to the small things that are different about it, everything else is much better.

Nothing says "I'm hip and with it" more than a laptop that can withstand falls off your lap and spilled coffee.

have used windows, would never never go back.

go with a mac-- you can dual boot these days, so if you really miss windows, you can buy XP. Leopard is far superior to either XP or Vista. The best OS out there right now is probably Ubuntu.

Vista stinks from everything I've read

then Vista will never work properly for you. It is ridiculously bloated, antiquated, and problem strife. I would recommend a 15" macbook pro if you could afford it. If you are looking at a desktop, the iMacs just upgraded, but wait another month or two for the upgrades to get fully integrated (new ones haven't shipped yet-- they just started sendig out overclocked ones)

I would never go back to a Win machine.

There are places to get them cheaper than directly from apple too.

My favorite is www.macconnection.com I have bought from them many times, they have great service and if you ever have a problem, they will help you.

For example, my first mac was an iBook G4 I bought from them after my pc was stolen. I needed it soon because I was leaving to go back to school, anyway I ordered it and it arrived, dead. I called them up, got my RMA number and shipped it back. Got my second one, it was also dead. By this time I was leaving for school in two days and I NEEDED a computer. SO I called them, talked to the same person as before (they are great about that, you get to talk to YOUR account manager) and told him what was up. he told me to ship the computer back (he gave me another RMA number) and then call him with the tracking number, and once he verified it, he would send my computer overnight via FedEx. He did exactly that, the next day I had a perfectly fine working iBook, with an EXTRA 512mb of ram for free for the hassle.

I should add that the problems with the first two were not caused by mac connection, but by DHL that was somehow destroying them in transit. The one that arrived FedEx was in perfect shape, and booted immediately upon opening the box.

Good LUCK!

I should be in advertising! :think: :hi:

Just bought a MacBook today, in fact!

We would have nothing else...bit more expensive, but definitely worth it IMO. z

I can't find one single disadvantage and tons of advantages. I've already answered 10 e-mails before husband's vaio has booted up. I've had the same iBook G4 for almost three years and have had to replace the a/c cord and battery - otherwise, not a single problem. The thing has been thrown across the boat in rough weather, had coffee spilled on it and been used for about 8 hours a day every day. No one has been able to show me anything their PC can do that my mac can't.

Added bonus - It makes me look and feel superior!
:rofl:

And, to be honest, I simply LOVE my Mac. It never dies! I've had it for almost 4 years, I've upgraded the OS once, and I haven't had any problems with it.

Plus, if you live near an Apple store, the Genius Bar is the most fabulous thing EVER. I accidentally rolled over the end of my powercord and smooshed the prong on the end (they have a different design now), and then stupidly tried to stick it in the laptop anyway...and in the process, fucked up the power connection on the inside of the laptop. Entirely my fault and the warranty had expired, but I had to get it fixed, so I took it to the Apple store and explained what happened. They fixed it. FOR FREE. My roommate has had similar experiences with broken iPods. Yes, plural. She has busted two of them (entirely her fault) and had them replaced for free, the second time without a warranty. The Mac is worth the extra money for the customer service alone

Whatever you decide to do, do not...I repeat DO NOT buy a Dell laptop. I had one in law school that had to be replaced piece by piece as it literally fell apart. Finally, they gave me a new one. Which proceeded to fall apart, piece by piece. And getting ahold of someone at customer service? FORGET IT. I would spend hours on hold only to talk to someone in India. Don't go there. Trust me.

I've heard too many horror stories about them....

...in 2 years an entire new way of computing will be available that will make todays machines seem like dinosaurs.
I've read about it and it's double cool....

I Like Macs but spending 2 grand right now is not the best thing to do.
It will be a nice doorstop in 2 years....

off ebay

who's a good manufacturer these days?

...I've never had one come into the shop...Which is a Very Good thing! :)

not all macs cost 2k, to suggest so is ridiculous.

...., I just feel that spending a lot on any laptop right now is a little shortsighted.

The New Laptops (PC's and Mac's) will do away with the hard drive ...they'll have built in memory for storage...Powerful
"Flash drives" and the new type of Bendable screens plus unheard of power plus a lot of cool stuff. (instant restore, cell phone technology...Etc)

Again..if a Mac can be had for a grand then go for it.. :)

I plan to retire my Mac when the new ones come out (maybe 14-24 months)

it can be plugged into an external monitor if you want to use a bigger screen at home, and still have the portability...

You should not speak about things you do not know...

A normal non-psychotic person would have said:

"You know Bluejazz, maybe you're not aware of the fact that a Mac can be had for under a grand...It does come with a small screen but it would be just fine for the original poster"

..And I would have wholehearedly agreed with you... Geez...jasonic...Just cause I make an error doesn't make me a dumb-ass...
..and just because I've got a degree in computer science and MCSE and all that crap doesn't mean I know Everything..Christ...

I've never bought into this whole Mac & PC Crap....they both have their plus and minuses.

You've been around DU long enough not to treat a long term member like shit...

Thats nice of you...

If you don't know what you are talking about, why say anything at all? You will never notice me giving advice about PCs. That is because I don't know much about them, so instead of making myself look like a fool, I keep my mouth shut.

You should think about following that rule too.

I also wasn't trying to make you feel like a dumb ass, I was merely pointing out that your assertions were false. Additionally, every laptop in existence except the huge 17 inch ones, have a small screen. I had a 12 inch iBook for a while, the screen was fine. I never had a problem seeing it. A small screen is relative anyway, who are you to say that a 13 inch screen would not be perfect for the OP?

I think you were just knocking Macs instead, and are mad you got called on it, and made to look like a fool that did not know what he/she was talking about...(see above advice about keeping mouth shut)

Where did you get the whole idea that I hate..or don't like Macs?...I happen to own one...and like it a lot.

2. 17 inch Pc's laptop can be had for 600 bucks and work just fine for what the average user wants.

3. You miss the entire point of my post (s)
The new laptops, which will be light-years ahead of the "same old stuff" that's out now, will be out in a fairly short time.
Spending a bunch of money on ANY laptop right now is ...um...going to make you think (In 14-24 months)
"Damn...if I hadn't spent so much on my laptop (PC or Mac), I'd go for one of the new ones with the 19 bendable screen....
..they'll fold up to 13 inch...and have a lot of improvements that are not available now"

The whole point is DON't spend a lot right now cause you'll want something truly hi-tech in a short time.
(Actually, now I think about it, a used Mac (for 300-400) would be a smart thng right now.
When the new ones come out..splurge...

And your post: "and made to look like a fool that did not know what he/she was talking about"

If I think a car costs 25 grand and someone tells me it's really 19 grand...it's not a thing of "Shooting your mouth off without knowing what you're talking about" ...It's just being unaware of the true cost. (maybe a dealer told you they were 25 grand)
Hell..if I checked everything that I said with a "Correct Service"..I'd never get to speak.

Just Maybe, A Mac Person (who I know) told me the wrong info....or they were talking about the high-end models.
Also...To me..a 13 inch screen is way to small for my taste.
after looking at 22 inch screens and my 17 inch laptop, it would bug me.

I still say..Get the cheapest (good) thing right now and wait for a while to spend a lot.
I know I plan to...

1) "screens are small" Cost too much, etc...

2) fine, 600 bucks for a 17 inch pc, enjoy...

3) There will never be a time to buy a computer where there will never be big things coming in 14-24 months...

4) www.apple.com, look up the true cost, or just go to the link I posted above to get one even cheaper...

5) Screen size is subjective, let the person buying it decide that.

6) So when exactly will you buy a new PC? (see number 3 above)

..You'll be able to instant restore plus (from what I hear) You'll be able to throw them against the wall and have no damage.
The "Trial Software" thing will be gone with instant restore....I mean..You could download Sound Forge 9 and use it for the trial period, then do an instant restore (about 30 seconds) and start your trial over again. (Software folks ain't very happy about that one. :) )

They'll really be entirely different than any Laptop that is on the market now.

Having said all that...I could very well be broke by the time all this happens...sigh,,

Compaq desktop (which has gone through life first as windows 98, then Windows XP, and finally Red Hat Linux) for the last 8 years. In fact I bought the thing refurbished; am very surprised it's still alive and kicking. Any Mac I can purchase (used or new) that works and is better than 750 MHz is fine by me. I also happen to have a monitor adapter so screen size isn't any bother either. :D

Q3JR4.

I'd never get a Mac myself since I need something I can easily replace parts by myself (I tend to get something new internally for my computer (whether it be new memory, graphics card or sound card) pretty often and low priced. I know Windows blows, but with some patience one can make it not blow so hard.

However if I were to suggest my mom a new comp, I'd tell her to get a Mac since all she needs is something reliable and can go on the internet without a hassle.

I have a mac, but had mostly had PCs until I got this macbook a little over a year ago. Do you need a laptop because you just don't want to use up much space, or do you use it to travel? One of the reasons that I got a mac is that there are mac stores in major cities all over the world, and I'm traveling in different countries every other month or so. I wanted something that's standardized and all covered under one warranty. I haven't had to use that warranty yet (though I'm going to soon - this generation of macbook I have has a problem with one plastic edge getting screwed up - sure enough, it happened to me, but a friend said that they fixed his for free without even though his warranty was up).

Another reason that I bought a macbook is that I didn't want to buy all new programs. This was around the time that vista was coming out, and I would have had to probably get new versions of programs for that as well. So, now I'm still running an exact copy of my old computer's windows XP on my mac using a program called parallels. It's pretty good - costs about $70, and you can install a simple program on both computers, hook them together with a network cable, and in a few hours you'll have an exact copy of your old computer on your mac that you can open in a separate widow from OSX. I'm thinking of phasing out XP, since many things won't support it in the near future, but it's been great to be able to have "both" computers in one.

Now, if I wasn't me, and didn't need very specific technical programs, what I would do is get a cheap, but good, pc laptop and run some version of Linux on it. A good friend of mine who works with computers for a living now exclusively uses Linux. He was telling me the other day about programs that you can run on Linux which work as sort of shells that you can run Windows programs inside of. Sounds good to me - maybe I'll try it.

One of my major complaints about my previous laptop had been that althought it was technically a laptop because it was one of those huge 17 inch screen ones, it was a bit heavy to just bring along. My mac book has been really cool because it's thin light and pretty much as portable as a book. You can get PC's that are this small too, but when you do the usual PC cost advantage disappears.

Stay away from Lenovo.

just sits there, taunting me... Mocking me with its icons and its stable OS that never crashes...

And that damn user interface, DAMMIT TO HELL for its user friendliness...

That damn mac is over there right now, laughing at me, silently...

I don't know how much longer I can take it. It annoys the shit out of me...


:rofl:

It's hard to believe, but I don't think it is a good as people say.

Macs crash. All OS's crash.

It all depends on what kind of user you are and how you expect an OS to work.

nothing else.

:P

Macs are worthless for the type of work I do, and the programs I use. But trying to get the "mac cult" to understand that is not worth the time.

I use Acers and Dells.

And check your PMs.